The Fiver | These are occasions that quite literally don’t come along every day

This, ladies and gentlemen, is when the Worthington’s Cup becomes truly serious. We know this because they have scheduled the next draw for a time when British people might be vaguely conscious, and will broadcast it on a channel with which British people might be vaguely familiar. But before that, some football. Highlights are almost too many to mention, but include some of those romantic meetings that only cup competitions can throw up. Crystal Palace host Huddersfield for the first time since last month, Aston Villa host Middlesbrough for the first time since last Tuesday, and Brighton head to Bournemouth for the first time since last Friday. Meanwhile, Leicester won’t get another chance to welcome Liverpool to the King Power Stadium for a televised match until this Saturday. These are occasions that quite literally don’t come along every day.
Talking of the area where the football/television Venn diagram (basically one circle inside another circle these days) intersects, Burnley’s Sean Dyche admitted, before his side’s game against Championship pacesetters Nasty Leeds, that he has particularly fond memories of the competition because “you used to win a telly for being man of the match from Rumbelows. When you’re at Chesterfield and you’re earning what you’re earning and you win a telly, it’s a fantastic moment. I actually gave it to my mum and dad.” And to think, all Raheem Sterling’s mum got was an amazing house with a crystal-encrusted sink.

This being the nation’s least-beloved major cup competition (until your team wins it, of course) there will inevitably be squad rotation. Chelsea’s Antonio Conte has relished “a good opportunity to give a chance to some players that in the moment didn’t play a lot”, which in his overprivileged case includes Eden Hazard. Elsewhere, the Nottingham Post has spotted that Forest have lost the last three games in which they were officiated by Chris Kavanagh, who will take charge of their tie on Wednesday. “Is this,” they ask, “a bad omen?” Perhaps, but not as bad an omen as conceding 16 goals in their last eight games, or having to play Chelsea.

Relatively unfamiliar faces preparing for a rare run-out include Liverpool’s Danny Ward and Marko Grujic, Brighton’s Ezequiel Schelotto and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay. The game against Burton Albion is expected to be the lanky 20-year-old’s first competitive outing of the season, as he seeks to push his claims for a place in United’s first-choice midfield. “Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard are role models to me because they were late developers like I am,” he said in anticipation. “Not everybody is born at 16 years old physically ready to go straight into the Premier League.” The Fiver is no scientist, but as far as we know hardly anybody is born at 16 years old.
Join Simon Burnton from 7.45pm BST for hot MBM coverage of Leicester 1-3 Liverpool, Tottenham 4-2 Barnsley and the rest of the night’s Milk Cup action.
“I want to bring Paulo Dybala to North Korea, and I’m also trying with [popular opera combo] Il Volo. I know that Kim Jong-un is very passionate about sports and music, that’s why I’m trying to get the Juventus superstar involved. If I take Dybala there, there will be 200,000 people in the stadium and they’d have to put up big screens too. It would be a national party” – Italian senator Antonio Razzi reveals that peace in our time can be achieved simply by bundling the midfielder on a plane to Pyeongchang.
“I’d like people to think of football and all the positive things I’ve done when they hear my name, but sadly some people just think about women when they hear my name. For example I was never unfaithful to Nancy [Dell’Olio] because we weren’t married. That was my reasoning, but the English press didn’t see it that way. What can I do? I fall in love easily …” – never change Sven, never change.
‘Arry Redknapp, Jordons and more. It’s David Squires.
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“May I be the first of the 1,057 to point out that Phillipa Suarez (yesterday’s Fiver letters) wants to be a tad more careful lobbing e-shaped stones about in that glass house of hers” – Simon Allchin (and 1,056 others).

“Re: Alavés deciding to ‘stop the coach after the results obtained in the beginning of the season’ (yesterday’s Bits and Bobs). This could well prove to be a good tactic. We all know that everyone is better able to focus on the task at hand after a comfort break and a Ginster’s at Tebay” – Chris Sandford.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you’ve nothing better to do you can also tweet The Fiver. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Rollover.
“Woof! Woof! Hnnnggggrrrrrghhhhh” – a fluffy sausage dog who invaded the pitch and showed off its dribbling skills during San Lorenzo’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal di Sarandi in the Argentinian Superliga, channels Weird Uncle Fiver after gatecrashing the post-match interviews.
Marcus Rashford, Dele Alli and four other English players are among the 24 contenders who will lose out on the Golden Boy gong for Europe’s top, top tyro to Kylian Mbappé.
Jürgen Klopp’s logic has determined that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be the business at Liverpool because people don’t think he’s that good any more. “When Alex was 18 or 19 people thought he would be ‘The Man’ – as people think a lot of times pretty early – and immediately you put a rucksack on their back,” blathered Klopp. “That makes development not easy. He’s at a perfect age and is still able to make big steps.”
Manuel Neuer will be out until 2018 after suffering foot-snap in Bayern Munich training. “We’re incredibly sorry for him,” sniffed chief suit Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “Manuel will be back to his previous best and available to us again in January.”
Flamin’ Bengaluru FC midfielder Erik Paartalu has described his eventful trip to North Korea for a 0-0 draw with Pyeongchang’s 4.25 SC in Asian Big Vase. “There was a nuclear missile getting fired off over our hotel room, you can’t exactly prepare for something like that,” he yelped.
Mark Sampson admits the racism allegations made against him have taken an emotional toll, with scrutiny of his tenure as England Women’s manager intensifying as they prepare to begin their World Cup qualification campaign. “I think if anyone put themselves in my position they would feel in a very difficult position, emotionally,” he said.
Three Leicester supporters have been banned from the King Power Stadium after “inexcusable” behaviour when the club played Brighton and homophobic chants could be heard.
And Cardiff striker Lee Tomlin has appeared in court accused of grievous bodily harm after an alleged assault outside a trendy Leicester nightspot.
Sign up and receive the best of Big Website’s coverage, every Friday, it says here. Seems to be a curious lack of mentions for The Fiver …
Marina Hyde is forced to point out to certain Manchester United fans that, yes, incredibly, racial stereotyping is racist.
If Burton Albion midfielder Will Miller wants to move on from being known as the bloke who played Oliver Twist in a 2007 BBC TV adaptation, it feels like an error to have given an interview to Ben Fisher and told him all about it.
Crystal Palace’s Pape Souaré tells Dominic Fifield how he has fought back from what could have been a career-ending car crash.
All hail Sead Kolasinac: legs like sacks of millet, elbows dangling like a man carrying carpets, and finally an Arsenal player unlikely to get bounced off the park, writes Barney Ronay.
The Women’s Super League has moved from summer to winter but that will not be the only challenge teams making the step up to its top flight will face, reckons Suzanne Wrack.
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SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
posted by CAMPUS94